Semiautomatic bottle-capping machine



June 5, 11923.

E. A. HEY ET AL SEMIAUTOMTIC BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE l M9, W W@ f w ma( 5. m. Z

Filed May 5, 1919 11,458,123 E. A. HEY ET Ag SEMIAU'IOMATICA BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed May 3, 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W A Mig/f %1 JZM. c7

i fz Mzffa/tp- Sheets Sheet E. A. HEY ET AL SEMIAUTOMATIC BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE -Fil6d May 5, 1919 June 5, 1923.

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EDIVIUND A. HEY, OF LA GRANGE, AND JOHN G. LE PERE AND LYLE K. WEBBER, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO THE WILLIAMS SEALING- CORPORATION, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SEMIAUTOMATIC BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE.

Application led May 3, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDMUND A. HEY, of La Gran-ge, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, JOHN G. LE PERE, of Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, both citizens of the United States, and LYLE K. VVEBBER, of Decatur, inthe county of Macon and State of Illinois, a subject of the King of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Semiautomatic Bottle Capping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to bottle capping machines and moreparticularly t0 a semi-automatic capping machine; that is, one in which a bottle is placed in the machine by hand and likewise the bottle cap, the bottle being moved into engagement with the cap and the cap locked thereon by a treadle operated mechanism.

rIhe invention relates also to a machine A adapted to operate upon a cap having a movable locking lever.

One object of the present invention is to provide a machine embodying these characteristic features, which will be simple and eiicient in operation and at the same time durable and inexpensive.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this sort which will accommodate various sizes of bottles and also various sizes of caps, within certain limits.

Another and very important object of this invention is to regulate the movement of the bottle in bringing the same into engagement with the cap, so as to avoid undue pressure, and breakage which might result therefrom; and a still further object is to provide for maintaining the bottle in a fixed position while the lever turning mechanism is operative, said lever turning mechanism being independent to a certain extent of the bottle moving means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this kind in which the lever turning mechanism can be operated by hand if so desired.

With these various objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction of the various parts, and in the manner of combining or arranging the same; all of which will be fully described Serial No. 294,572.

yhereinafter and set forth in the appended claims. i

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Fig. l is a side elevation of a bottle capping machine constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view partly in elevation; Fig. 4 a sectional plan view on the line 4 -4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a front view of a chuck; Fig. 7 is a side view of the same; Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a detail view of lever turning finger; Fig. l0 is a detail view of bottom plate of chuck with gripping fingers detached; and Fig. ll is a detail view of cam and lever Vfor raising bottle support.

In constructing a machine in accordance with the present invention we provide an upright frame A having a iiat base A of suitable dimensions and which is preferably bolted or spiked to theiioor in order to maintain the machine rigid. The frame which is in the nature of a standard is provided with a horizontal projection A through which the table adjusting means work, and the frame is also constructed with projections A3 and A4 in which the chuck and plunger shaft Work.

A table B, upon which the bottle to be capped, is placed, is carried at the upper end of a screw C and at its inner end the table B is cut out as shown at B to straddle the front side of the upright frame, thus utilizing said frame as a guide during lthe vertical movements of the table. The upper face of the table is preferably covered by a pad of rubber or other suitable material in order to guard against breakage of the bottle. Y

A bottle gauge D is fastened to the upper face of the table, said gauge being preferably angular in'shape, as shown, and its size and shapewill be governed by the size and shape of the bottle which is to be capped, but for all ordinary structures of bottles we have found lthat the angular form of gauge is best adapted for the purpose, and this type of gauge is, of course, made in various sizes to accommodate different sizes of bottles. The gauge D is provided with rearwardly extending arms D slotted at- D? and through'yvhich the fastening bolts jare adapted "topas's, This gauge will be so positioned upon the table with reference to the operative parts of the machine that the bottle when .contacting with the gauge will be centered in direct vertical alignment with the chuck so that the bottle cap carried by said chuck will he centrally placed upon the mouth of the bottle. i'

Th@JJ ,Screw C, which Carries the table at its upper end, is threaded through the table lifting sleeve or 1nut E, flanged at its lower end as shown at E', for engagement with the lifting lever F; and tothe upper end of this sleeve E secured a hand wheel Gr by means of which the sleeve can be turned tol raise or lower the screw for the purpose of adjusting the table to the properoperaf tive level ac co'rdingy to the height of the bot, tle to whi'chzthe cap'is to be applied, and

V thishand Wheel Gris preferably connected y I2 which meets theflatlface I, this flat face to the' upperends ofthe screw by means of radial set screws working in radialbores produced the hand wheel, the ends of the screws seating in tapered sockets produced inthe sleeve to receive them. This lwheel also'limits the downward movement of'thesleeve in the projection A2.

A lock nut .is arranged upon the screw and is adapted to. be turned down rmlyv upon thef'hand wheel after the table has been adjusted to, its proper height.

The table lifted by means of a lever F which is pivoted within the lower portion of ithe upright supporting frame upon a horizontal shaft F, this lever beingV cenf trally arranged as lshown andy bifurcated at its .forwardory outer end F2 in order to straddle the screw C and engage the flanged.

end E of the table liftingsleeve E.

The rear or inner end of this lever F is also bifurated. as shownv at, F3k to receive a roller Ft', which contacts with the periphery of a cam I. The lever F is, an elbow' lever as shown and itis obvious that when the camy I operates upon the inner end of the lever tof depress the same the, outer end of thelever will b e raised carrying with it the sleeve, screw and table.

The cam I." substantially.y circular in shape for the'greater portion of its circumference but atthe pointl l there is a flat face extendingfrom'a point on the circumference inwardlyv and there. is also a fiat face Pbei'ng, inelined tothe radiusl about 45o. The roller upon the end ofthe lever normallyrests`l againstthe inclined face Ifoivv thecam and.` consequently during the initial-,f`

movement of the cam in the direction indi# cated, the lever will bey rocked so as to ele.- vatel thestable a definite extent, and then, during the remaining movement of the cam trally arranged so as to operate upon the inner or rear'end of the lifting lever.

Upon the outer ends of the shaft K are mounted the foot treadles L, the upper ends of, said treadles being rigidly connected to the ends of the shaft 21nd these treadles are then curved rearwardly and downwardly as shown at L terminating in a horizontal foot receivingv portion L2 and in operation these treadles 'are pushed backwardly by the backward and downward push of the operator, turning the cam inthe direction indicated causing the lever to be rocked and the table elevated the proper amount to bring the bottle into operativer relation with the cap receiving chuck, and bythe proper adjustment ofthe table, the amount of' movement imparted by the cam will be sufficient to. givethe bottle all the vertical movement it requires. i

The caps to. be applied to the bottles 'are made of sheet metal in accordance with U. Sx. Patent No. 1,108,959', granted September. 1 17914, and have a depending slotted skirt surrounded by a ring attached thereto, said with a curved depending guide N2y into.

which the cap. is-guide-d and againsty which. it is held by means of the spring gripping fingers N3, pivoted at N4, and actuated at their rear or innerends by means of a coil pring N 5 which isv located inv a horizontal ore asl shown at N8 inl order: to grip the capf` which is placed therebetween, the forwardy ends of these gripping, fingers. converging i producedin the rear end. ofthey plate` N. The grippingfingers N3 are positioned slightly towards eachother.' asshown, and n as the cap. isy inserted along thel` bottornaf theY platefN and carried toward the depend.r ing guiding flange N2, the forwardrendsof;

the gripping fingers will be forcedV apart sufficiently to permit the introduction of the cap and will automatically close again to prevent its dislocation, and when the cap has been inserted between the gripping fingers, and forced back into engagement with the depending guide and fiange N2, it will be held properly centered, so that, as the bottle is moved upwardly by the table the mouth of the bottle will properly enter the cap which is to be secured thereon,

As previously stated the bottle is positioned by means of a gauge l) and the cap is positioned by means of the guiding or gauge flange N2, and these two parts are so arranged with reference to each other and their size and shape governed by the size of the cap to be applied, that the bottle held against the gauge will correctly enter the cap correctly placed in its guide or gauge.

It will of course be understood that the chuck comprising the plate, guide and gripping fingers will be made in varying sizes to accommodate caps of different sizes.

The pressure block G will be the same for all sizes and this block is formed at its lower forward end with a forwardly projecting lip O against which the lever of the cap is adapted to rest when said cap has been properly inserted in the chuck. The pressure block is preferably square in cross section and works in the correspondingly shaped groove A5 cut in the forward face of the projection A bearing plate 02 is bolted to the end of the projection to hold the square portion of the pressure block in the groove during its movement up and down. The lower portion of the pressure block is somewhat larger than the upper portion, there being an intervening lshoulder O3 which will serve to limit the upward movement of said block.

A plunger shaft P is rigidly fastened in the upper end of the pressure block and eX- tends upwardly through a bushing Q, screwed into the end of the projection A4 and between the bushing Q and the end of the pressure block, and surrounding the plunger rod, is a pressure spring R, said spring bearing directly upon the upper end of the pressure block and exerting a downward pressure thereon, this spring however yielding upwardly as the bottle is moved up into the cap and the tension of this spring can be gauged by adjusting of the bushing, and in this manner, the proper degree of tension to aiX the cap upon thebottle, can be determined.

Jiifter the cap has been placed upon the bottle, it then becomes necessary to turn the lever down so as to securely lock the cap upon the bottle, and this operation must be accomplished while the bottle is still held under uniform compression in the cap, but in order to prevent any increase in the pressure during the locking operation, we propose to actuate the lever turning mechanism by means separate and distinct from the cap positioning means, and in the accomplishment of this we employ a lever turning finger S which is carried at the end of a rotary shaft S journaled to a suitable bearing carried at the forward end of a bracket S2, which is secured to the rear face of the pressure block as most clearly shown in Figs. 3 and e. The shaft S has a pinion S3 connected thereto and which is engaged by a toothed sector S4 pivotally mounted on a shaft S5 fixed in a boss at the rear end of the bracket S2 and this toothed sector has a downwardly extending radial arm S6 to which one end of a spring T is connected, the opposite end of said spring being connected to the supporting frame.

rlhe toothed sector is also provided with an upwardly projecting arm U, to which is attached a shackle U and to which is connected a spring U2, the opposite end of said spring being connected to a similar shackle U3, which in turn is connected to the upper end of a lever V, said lever being pivoted adjacent to the side of the frame at V adjacent the lower end of the lever and the extreme lower end of said lever is shaped and placed for engagement with a cam lever W rigidly mounted upon the treadle shaft and is positioned with reference to said cam as to engage the lower end of the lever after the cam has traveled the proper distance to elevate the bottle into engagement with the cap and maintain the same in such position, and when this has taken place, the cam lever 1V will engage the lower end of the lever V throwing the upper end rearwardly, actuating the toothed segment which in turn rotates the pinion attached to the shaft carrying the lever turning finger.

lThe cam lever lV has a rearward eX- tension W to which a coil spring "W2 is attached in order t0 return the cam lever, treadles and cam to their proper positions lafter the capping' operation has been accomplished and the treadles relieved of pressure.

By having the sector connected with springs upon opposite sides of its rotating center, the operation of the sector and the lever turning finger will be uniform, and in order to prevent too great a movement during the turning operation we provide an adjustable stop X in the form of a headedscrew which is inserted in a boss X eX- tending from the face of the frame so as to bring the stop screw X in the path of the sector arm U and by regulating this screw to the desired position, the movement of the sector can be arrested at the desired point.

ln operation, a bottle is placed upon the table against the bottle gauge and a cap is inserted in the chuck With its lever eX- tending upwardly and against the end of plate h and lip The treadle is then pushed down and back With the result of elevating the bottle through the cam l and lever F andthe mouth of bottle is forced into the cap, and maintained in this position, but there Will be no excess pressure as the table is maintained steady after it has moved upwardly the amount permitted by the cam movement. The continued movement of the treadle causes the cam lever YV to act upon the lever V and this in turn operates the toothed sector Which drives the lever turning fin-ger tocomplete the sealing'operation by turning down the cap lever While the cap and bottle are held in fixed relation, and by having springs c0nnected to both arms of the toothed sector, the movement thereof will be balanced and all danger of breakage due to too much force avoided. The stop X also limits the movementof the sealing mechanism.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is 1. ln a bottle capping machine, the come bination With a movable bottle support and a chuck adapted to receive a cap having a lever, of a lever turning finger, a pivoted member adapted to actuate said lever turning finger andv springs connected to the opposite ends of said pivoted member, one of said springs being connected to a fixed support and an actuatingy lever connected to the opposite end of the 'other spring.

2. ln a bottle capping machine, the combination Withv a chuck and lever turning finger, of a bottle support, means including a cam for moving said bottle support a dehnitel distance, a shaft upon which the cam is mounted, a member actuated from said shaft and a lever engaged 'by said member` after the bottle support has reached ythe' limit of its movement and means for actuating the lever turning finger connected p to said lever.

- bination -With a chuck adapted to receive a 3. 1n a bottle capping machine, the coin' bination ywith a suitable supporting frame, of a chuck adapted to receive a cap, a lever turning finger operable in proximity to said chuck, a` bottle support, a lifting' lever for said support, a cam for actuating `said lifting lever, a shaft on Which said cam is mounted, a second cam mounted upon said shaft, a lever pivotally connected to the supporting frame, the second cam being adapted to engage the lower end of said lever, the upper end of said lever being connected with the finger turning means.

' 4f. lnabottle capping machine, the comcap having a lever, of a lever turning device carried by said chuck, a bottle support,

5. 1n a bottle capping ymachine the coi'n-k bination With a frame, of a yieldable cap receiving chuck, a bottle support, a lever for lifting said support, a cam for operating said lever and maintaining the same in its raised position, a leverlturning finger with pinion and segment for 'turning the same, a lever operatively connected' "vvith said segment, an arm upon the cam shaft adapted to actuate said lever, said arm engaging said lever While said cam is maintaining the bottle support in a definite raised position,

6. ln a bottle capping machine, a chuck comprising a plate having a depending guide, a pair of oppositely disposed gripping fingers, said fingers being pivoted intermediate their ends to the sidesof said plate, spring pressing means carried by said:

plate and actuating upon the rear ends ofy said fingers, the forward ends of said fingers beingshaped to receive a cap.

7. 1n a bottle capping machine the combination with a chuck adapted to receive a cap, of a bracket rigidly `connected to said chuck, afshaft journaled in said bracketv and carrying a pinion and finger, a secondshaft journaled in `said bracket yandcarrying a toothed segment, said segment having arms projecting aboveand below its pivotal pointsprings connected to said arms, one of said springs being connected to a iiXed point, and a lever connected to the other of said springs for the purpose specified.

8. 1n a bottle capping machine the combination With a chuck adaptedI to receive a cap, of a bracket secured to said chuck, a lever turning linger carried by said bracket, an actuating segment also carried by said bracket, said bracket having oppositely extending arms, springs connected to said arms, one of said springs being' connected to a fixed point, a lever connected to the other spring, a cam adapted to operate upon the oppositeV ends of said lever, and means for actuating said cam.

1n testimony whereof, We hereunto aiiix our signatures in the presence of tvvo Witnesses.

HANNAH LIEBESKIND, J. TAGKABURY. 

